Francisca Samsing

I am currently in the third year of my PhD undertaking a project that involves a partnership between the University of Melbourne and the Institute of Marine Research in Norway. My research focuses on how environmental variables affect the transmission of a marine parasite that affects both wild and farmed salmon populations, and how to prevent it.

I started my PhD straight after the completion of my Master’s degree. Since then, I have worked as a research assistant in my lab, I have published four peer-reviewed journal articles and presented at two international conferences; being granted an award for best student talk at the last conference I attended.

The science communication subjects I did during my master studies have been vital in my career. These subjects taught me how to effectively communicate my science by keeping my message brief and simple and always thinking about my audience. Before submitting a journal article or giving a talk, I always ask myself, ‘how can I pitch this manuscript to this particular journal?’ or ‘who is going to be my audience?’ Today, I feel confident about giving these questions an answer thanks to the practice and knowledge I gained in my science communication subjects, which I think should be core to any science degree in the world.

Francisca on LinkedIn